Businessman, Father & Inspirational Speaker, Steve Wampler has always shown a great light onto my life. When I started into the world if Multimedia, working with such tools as Adobe Photoshop and Flash. When I found struggles, the Wampler family was always telling me to never stop and push through my challenges. It was not until a few years ago that I was so touched by the man, Steve Wampler. Living in the beautiful town of Coronado, it has been amazing for myself to watch the Wampler family grow daily.

Steve Wampler was born with a severe form of Cerebral Palsy. Past all the challenges, that has never stopped him short of all the amazing things Steve has been able to accomplish. Steve has an amazing wife, Elizabeth and they have been blessed with two amazing children. For years I would see Steve riding around Coronado on his electric wheelchair with his two kids standing on the dual battery back of the chair. Their faces were holding strong smiles and waving to everyone that they would pass. Steve has been such an inspiration to me in life that has kept me thinking that anything I put my heart into I can accomplish.

When Steve was nine years old, his parents sent him to a weeklong wilderness camp near the Lake Tahoe for disabled kids. Steve would continue as a camper at this incredible California mountainside area for 10 years. This camp gives kids the chance to experience not only the northern california wilderness but independence through their own accomplishments. Steve was given the opportunity to fish, hike, swim in the lake and experience the amazing bonfires and sleeping under the stars! A few years ago… the camp was shut down and their was no organization to take over the camp. Through the incredible business thinking mind that Steve Wampler has been blessed with, he formed Wampler Kids. Myself as camper through regular camping, this 501-C3 organization raises money for campers to experience the great joy that I had through a non-disabled campground.

I am at a loss for words when writing this blog. I was thinking, their had to be another way to express my love for Wampler Kids to everyone I know. The next thing you know, a great video is made!! I encourage you to view Saturday Night Live’s own Will Forte with his great introduction to this amazing story. Following the first video, please watch this amazing promotional video for Wampler Kids. I hope this story will touch your heart as much it has mine.

Wampler Kids can only happen through generous donations from around the world. If you feel led to give, please click here

When attending church, an integral part of the “worship experience” is being able to know the songs. Most of the time I can catch onto the tune, yet the words always fly past me and I  end up jumping up and, down moving my whispering mouth, providing enactment to the words. … That is SO 2007! As with all churches that have caught up with the world of technology, The Rock Church in America’s finest city of San Diego, CA, has used this trend to enhance the worship experience, and gone beyond my expectations. The church is surrounded by 3,500 seats and led through the word by Senior Pastor, past professional NFL player, Miles McPherson. There are over 50 ministries throughout the city, small group meetings for every age group and topic, and a K-12 schooling system. The Rock has it going on!

When stepping into the building, which by the way as a fun fact, is the exact dimensions as “Noah’s Arc”, music fills the hall covered by thousands of voices. Plastered above the stage on which the band performs, are two large projection screens flipping through words at quick finger speed. Well, someone has to do that right?

One of my youth group students, 16 year old Dillon Evans,  is the one person who clicks his right index finger over 5 services throughout each Sunday. I was given the chance to meet with Dillon through an event I produced with my good friends at Walking on Water. Dillon was running the sound, lighting, and projector all at once. The reason I am blogging about Dillon is that I see the very same spark in him, that I saw in myself years ago, when I first had the interest in multimedia.

I opened my email this week and found a great email from The Rock Church sharing an inspirational story of Dillon that I want to share with you. I encourage you to read this email. I hope that it will lead you to focus on your dreams as strong as you possibly can!

To read the entire article, click here

For any strong musician, their art within their music becomes for some, a sensitive subject , an emotional outlet or even what gets their day running strong! On the other side, as the listener we all have our own likings to certain brand of music that tune our hearts to certain emotions that rock our minds to the beat. In the world is Gospel Music, there is certainly a long shopping list of artists. The very gospel music industry is very involved with the industry as a whole.

For many musicians, they listen to all types of music looking for the spark of imagination to write songs that match their hearts journey. My good friend & rising Gospel Music star Haley Montgomery contacted me a few weeks back with the strong interest of putting together a San Diego Sunset photo shoot. As a photographer, anytime I see the opportunity to shoot anything that will improve my eye and portfolio is a win-win for everyone. I love when clients express to me that they want me to do whatever I want! It allows me to throw away my mind and jump into a new mindset of going wild with my lens. So much fun!

Haley has released her first album, “Breakthrough” exclusively on iTunes. After hearing her music, breakthrough is truly what she really is. Her music provides an amazing array of acoustic gospel that encompasses light rock mixed with vocals that I would note are closer to Norah Jones or Sarah Bareilles.

Our shoot first began in Little Italy. As we were walking through the streets waiting for sunset to get really good, we found so many fun locations! As the photographer, slowing down time to seek out locations is key. I can relax, never look at my iPhone clock and laugh with the client the entire time.

Music is traveling down a new road. I love how much bands are using technology to promote their products at warp speed. So many artists have amazing opportunities to access fans worldwide through iPhones, SMS, Skype, UStream, YouTube. The list goes on and on. Notably, two of my favorite bands, San Diego’s own Switchfoot & Radiohead have started a march into the next digital age by leaving their labels and moving indie. Switchfoot plans to release multiple albums within years. Radiohead lets the fans decide how much they are worth. In my view, Indie music is it today for music.

My Good friends, Urban Rescue have just released their secondalbum with the help of Future of Forestry own Eric Owyoung. The music provides an amazing array of sound from brass, strings, percussion, vocals & synth all mixed into one amazing album. Their sounds comes from the heart and when hearing their music you will find a reason to find a local concert with Urban Rescue on the bill. Many bands are always entering the SoCal indie music scene, URB (short name) is sure to become a leader within the next year. If you are looking for purchase a good album, Buy on iTunes.

Lead Vocalist, Jordan contacted me with a few ideas for some promotional images. I threw around some thoughts that expanded into my studio. When I am shooting portraits, studio or location. I am the super-fan of props. Talk about pulling personality from the models! I have so much more fun shooting someone who feels comfortable in their world. I expressed this to Urban Rescue through brining their favorite books, artwork & musical instruments. These images are a result of this collaborative project.

If you attend the 2009 San Diego County Fair (June 14-July 5th) look inside the Photography Exhibit. These images took 3rd place in the Student Showcase!!

Karen & Eli have been together and shown many of us what true love really is. When you read that, sure that has been shown to us in such movies as “Titanic” & shows such as “I love Lucy” and that list goes on & on. Those two great commercial products are the first two I could think of! Karen was told of Eli from a friend and set up on a Blind Date. First reactions from both once they were told of each other was “never in a million years!”. Soon after they tried one date, another date and another date they ended up falling in Love. Karen & Eli have been together, dating for 20 years strong.

One funny story that was shared to me at their Miami Beach Rehearsal Dinner was Karen had been attending one of the top Miami Gyms for years and kept telling her personal trainer the stories of her “life partner”. The personal trainer continued to believe that the name Eli was a woman and continued to share stories of their lives together. Trips around the world, distant ocean cruises… the list goes on & on. One day, Karen was sporting her new engagement ring when the trainer noticed that she was “engaged”. At the same time Eli’s Miami gym was shut down for maintenance and he went to Karen’s Gym. I will leave it with, the Personal Trainer was shocked when he found out after all those years, the name Eli was her soon to be husband!! I could not stop laughing when I heard that one.

Karen & Eli are my Aunt & Uncle and when I was contacted to photograph their Amazing Wedding I said, “Sign me up! I’m coming to Miami!!”. The experience was amazing. I met so many wonderful people and had a blast shooting the entire weekend!

One joy of being a professional photographer is having a really nice camera. I got my new Canon 5D two months ago and I am absolutely in love with this body! The joy of the camera past that thought is being able to go outside and shoot pictures for fun!! What a learning experience for me to meet such photographers that will only shoot when they have scheduled dates.

I absolutely love photography. Anytime I see an opportunity for my camera to get into my hands I jump on it!! This impromptu shoot began when I was sitting at the kitchen table of my home in sunny Coronado, CA. If you are looking for a great site with amazing information about Coronado, visit my friends website at: eCoronado.com Oh what is a photographer to do when they have nothing to do on a Saturday night? Grab your camera, text a few good looking friends and go to all the great spots of Downtown San Diego.

The significance between myself & the two models is we are all alumni from Coronado High School. Our journey started in Little Italy, next we hiked near the star of india and then outside San Diego Hotlist club, Airport Lounge. Once our fun night came to an end we concluded with the best San Diego Yogurt Shop, Yogurtland in Little Italy.